Silk is an Atlanta-based R&B group whose members consisted of Tim Cameron, Jimmy Gates, Gary "Big G" Glenn, Jonathan "John-John" Rasboro, and Gary "Lil G" Jenkins.Gary Jenkins started his singing career in church at a young age and during college, he was a member of the Tennessee State University Jazz Collegians. In 1992, Jenkins answered an audition call and became the lead singer for R&B singer Keith Sweat's new R&B group, Silk.
During that same year, Silk released their self-titled debut album which peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200, #4 on Billboard's Heatseekers albums chart, and #1 on Billboard's Top R&B\Hip-Hop Albums chart.
The group's first single, "Happy Days" peaked at #86 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #13 on Billboard's Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.
It wasn't until 1993 that Silk hit it big with their second single, "Freak Me" (which was co-written and produced by Keith Sweat himself) topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart and R&B charts, making it their biggest hit song to date. The song also topped Billboard's Rhythmic Top 40 chart and managed to peak at #7 on Billboard's Top 40 Mainstream chart.
Silk's third single, "Girl U For Me" peaked at #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #25 on Billboard's Rhythmic Top 40 chart. Their last singles from the album, "It Had to Be You" and "Lose Control" managed to become moderately successful on the R&B charts as well.
In 1995, Silk released their self-titled sophomore album which peaked at #46 on the Billboard 200 chart.
The first single from the album, "Hooked on You" peaked at #54 on the Billboard Hot 100, #25 on Billboard's Rhythmic Top 40 chart, #12 on Billboard's Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, and #44 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart.The second single, "I Can Go Deep" failed to appear on the Hot 100, but managed to peak at #9 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart. The third single, "Don't Rush" peaked at #91 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #39 on Billboard's Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.
In 1999, 4 years after their last album, Silk released their third album, "Tonight" which peaked at #21 on the Billboard 200 and #8 on Billboard's Top R&B\Hip-Hop Albums chart.The first single from the album, "If You" became another hit for the group, peaking at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on Billboard's Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.
The second single, "Meeting in My Bedroom" peaked at #62 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #15 on Billboard's Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. The last single, "Let's Make Love" peaked at #58 on Billboard's Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. Silk performed one of the songs from their album, "Please Don't Go" on the popular sitcom, "Moesha."
In 2001, Silk released their fourth album, "Love Session" which peaked at #20 on the Billboard 200 and #2 on Billboard's Top R&B\Hip-Hop Albums chart.The album wasn't quite as successful as their previous ones and the only single to chart was "We're Callin' You" which peaked at #56 on Billboard's Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. In 2002, Elektra Records dropped Silk and Keith Sweat from their label and during that same year, Gary Jenkins departed from the group to pursue other interests.
In 2003, Silk released their fifth album, "Silktime" which peaked at #30 on Billboard's Top R&B\Hip-Hop Albums chart and #11 on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart. The only single to chart was "Side Show" which peaked at #66 on Billboard's Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.
After the flop of "Silktime," nothing had been heard from Silk in quite sometime, but in 2006, Silk released their sixth album, "Always and Forever" which included cover versions from Shalamar, Prince, and the System.
Gary Jenkins became a member of the R&B group, Blayse, but the group has yet to release an album. In 2007, Gary released his solo album, "The Other Side." In 2007, Gary returned to his old group, Silk after appearing with them on Keith Sweat's 2006"Sweat Hotel" tour. Silk is currently working on a new album.
